A new UK academy focused on training crew for all roles on board superyachts is to be launched next week. SuperYacht World attended the pre-launch event for Warsash Superyacht Academy, housed in the renowned Maritime Academy on the south coast.

The academy aims to provide a new and distinctive venture for the training of engineers, deckhands and interior crew, and will collaborate with partners such as Burgess to provide high-quality training programmes and business services, explained director Andrew Hair. As well as equipping them with the skills and expertise to work on board, staff will help students to understand the industry and their options for progress within it.

“The difference in this industry is that it is really high in quality, and the people in it demand different standards of the people they employ,” he says. “This is the only centre in the world that offers the complete range of training from entry level and hospitality to interior and deck staff through to captains,”

Facilities at the college include engineering workshops, and a fire-fighting demonstration and testing area. As well as a new 20-acre ship handling centre, there are six bridge simulators: an in-house graphic designer has created lifelike scenes of harbours including Sydney, New York and Abu Dhabi so that potential captains can practice berthing and complete ‘search and rescue’ exercises. Conditions can change from foggy to snowy and seas from calm to stormy at the touch of a button.

“To get the most out of the simulation experience we want total immersion, for people to come in and think it’s the real thing” said Billy Bean, principal lecturer of simulation, who led the demonstration at the event. “Only then can we assess students for the skills they need to have at sea.”

Crew also have access to recruitment tools through the college’s relationship with management companies such as Burgess. Training can be onsite or online, so crew can enhance their resumes by completing courses remotely during downtime onboard.

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